Sally Wheat Decorates Kids Rooms

One of my favorite local Houston designers thanks to Joni Webb from Cote de Texas (also a fav) is Sally Wheat.  She's a school teacher who found her true calling in decoratoring and has proven herself to be a naturally gifted designer. 

One of my guilty pleassures is drooling over the beautiful bedrooms she has designs for her client's children.  Below are my favorites.  You can check out more of Sally's work here.

Pink, black & white crib set, on its way to its new home!

Third set out the door this week.  This one is for a newborn that just arrived last week.  We started with these fabrics.

This chenille is actually white not yellow like in this photo.

And here is the bedding set.

And a closer look with the matching bolster pillow for big sister's bed who will be sharing the room with baby.

And now on to the next order.  Check back for more photos.

Pink and Black Crib Bedding

I am a nonstop bedding shop right now. Currently I have oh, I don't know, about 20 orders in production. CRAZY! Life is a little hectic right now. Good news for all of you, I am trying to be better about photographing my work to share.
Today I have what I call the Stephanie crib set. Stephanie is a fun and bubbly mother-to-be who came to me with aspirations of a bold pink, gray and black nursery. I have to say, I meet a lot of mothers who fall into the I bet we would be friends category and Stephanie is one of those moms. Her personality is magnetic and she just draws you in.
Below are a few pictures of the fabrics we used and her bedding set. We trimmed all the bumpers in pink grosgrain ribbon and lined the inside of some bumpers in white minky.  The crib skirt is a peony pink dupioni silk. I wish I had a picture of the drapes we made, oh well maybe later. Enjoy!

Eloise at The Plaza

If your a fan of the children's books Eloise, then you'll flip for the new 2100 square foot retail store in the newly renovated Plaza Hotel.  Decked out from top to bottom in "Eloise Pink" with black the store is sure to be the envy of little girls and their mothers.  I hope to take my sweet girl for a visit one day for her and moi!  Oh and The Plaza now offers a Live Like Eloise Slumber Party Package, a luxury slumber party for your daughter and 5 of her bestest friends.

Eloise's Living Room

Eloise's Tea Room - It will be available for tea parties, birthday parties and other celebrations. 

Can't you just imagine?

Black and Pink Boutique Chic

Let me start this post by saying this room design was A LOT of fun. I love feminine rooms and this one is all out girly. About a week ago I received an email from a mom who reads this blog and wanted to know if pink, black and damask wallpaper would work for a toddler’s room or would it be too much. Here is her question;

My lil one just turned two on July 3rd and we were already planning on transforming her room. I was thinking something fun, pink, black, damask wall paper, boutiquish (if that's even a word ..lol) for her room. Would that be too much for a lil girls room?

My immediate thought was, “How freaking cute would that be for a girl’s room, I want to design a room with that theme.” So I replied back saying stay tuned I would give her some guidance. Below is the room design, but I have added a few design comments below along with a shopping list. Click on the image to enlarge.





Pink and black is a beautiful combination, but you need to keep certain elements to a minimum or your room will end up looking like a Victoria’s Secret store. I would recommend keeping the wallpaper damask pattern to a soft pale pink. I found a paint swatch at Home Depot to help, Ralph Lauren’s Verona Pink VM45. You don’t have to use Ralph Lauren paint because it can get a little pricey, but it’s a good starting point. The wallpaper in the design I found at www.Lowes.com, but I was recently told they don’t sell wallpaper in the stores anymore. Again a starting point if you can’t get your hands on a sample. If you’re going to wallpaper the entire room keep the pink a powder pink tone. Another option would be to only wallpaper the wall the bed is against and paint the other walls a complimentary pink. That can help save some money if the budget is tight.

The fabrics selected are samples only because there are so many options available, but if you are going with damask wallpaper avoid a damask print fabric. Too many competing patterns. I recommend adding a dove gray color in the fabrics as a complimenting color. The tiny dot fabric swatch in the design is actually a soft gray color.

Black can be a dominating element to any design so select only a couple of key black pieces and the rest are tiny accents. For example the black dresser and dress form are large pieces and the pillow and picture frame are delicate accents.
The dresser and nightstand are from Ikea so don’t worry if the kids beat the crap out of it, it’s okay it was cheap. The art is from one of my all time favorite artist Janet Hill. They are inexpensive prints to help keep the budget in check.

A few side notes; the lighting in this design are serious budget busters, but you get the idea. I am sure you can find some reasonable alternatives with the internet. Also, there are a lot of pink tones in this inspiration board-do not perceive that as a design tip. Stick with two dominating tones max. This board is a sample only. Enjoy!

Shopping Guide:
Fabrics – www.JacquelynReese.com
Custom monogram – www.JacquelynReese.com
Mirror – www.Horchow.com
Dresser and Nightstand – www.Ikea.com
Rug, Beanbag, Dress form, Storage Basket, Vanity Seat – www.Potterybarnkids.com & www.Potterybarnteen.com
Pillow and Flower Knob – www.Anthropologie.com
Headboard – www.BallardDesigns.com
Jacket – www.JanieandJack.com
Shoes – www.jcrew.com (crewcuts)
Wallpaper – www.Lowes.com
Frames – www.PaulaPrass.com
Artwork – Janet Hill Studio http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5535176
Chandelier – Petite Paris Flea Market available at www.CircaLighting.com
Lamp – www.christopherspitzmiller.com